Evangeline Longbottom and the Last TimeTurner
by EvangelineLongbottom
Summary: Many years ago, the last existing time-turner was hidden away by the Ministry. Now, someone is trying to find and steal it. It's up to Evie, daughter of Neville and Luna, and her friends, to stop this mysterious enemy before their history is erased
1. Prologue

Evangeline Longbottom and the Last Time-Turner

A/N: Just to avoid confusion, this is the Prologue to a novel-length fic. The prologue is set immediately after the Battle at the Ministry, near the end of Harry Potter's fifth year at Hogwarts. The rest of the story, however, is set about 21 years later, years after the defeat of Voldemort. Enjoy!

Prologue

Cornelius Fudge surveyed the damage to his Ministry with dismay. He was standing in the middle of the Atrium, a large gold-paneled, high-ceilinged chamber lined with Floo Network regulated fireplaces. Usually the room was immaculately clean and gleaming, but tonight it looked like a war zone. And in a way, it was. The golden statues from the Fountain of Magical Brethren were scattered on the ground, many missing limbs or sporting nasty dents, and water from the fountain was pooling out onto the once-polished stone floors. The ground underfoot was now littered with broken glass and debris, and the large grey banner that had until recently been emblazoned with Fudge's face was now full of large rips and holes, and looked as though it could come down at any minute. This was going to cost him. But Fudge was too shocked and terrified to think about that yet. He was back. He Who Must Not Be Named was back! Dumbledore and Potter had been telling the truth all along. Fudge had seen the fiend with his very own eyes, not minutes ago! He couldn't get those horrible red eyes and that snaky face out of his head. They'd have his job for this. He didn't know what to do.

While Fudge was freaking out, the rest of the Aurors and other Ministry officials who'd responded to the distress call were milling around the ruined Atrium, seemingly at a loss for what to do. It was Kingsley Shacklebolt who decided to take action. "Minister!" he barked in his smooth, deep voice, and Fudge came out of his reverie with a start. "We must go downstairs to the Department of Mysteries, and find those Death Eaters Dumbledore was on about. We can assess the damage on the way." This sounded like as good a plan as any, so the Minister said, "Kingsley, lead the way. I need a minute." And he swept away in the direction of his office. Kingsley and the others headed for the elevator. "Are there any Unspeakables in this group?" Kingsley inquired, and a few hands went up. "Good, that will come in useful. Let's move." The others followed as the tall, cocoa-skinned Auror stepped into the waiting lift. When the elevator was full, the golden grilles clanged shut. As they made their descent, Unspeakable Quentin Fairwether wondered to himself: what would happen now? If You-Know-Who was really back, the consequences could be devastating, especially for the Minister. Quentin wouldn't be at all surprised if old Cornelius was sacked for this, particularly if the Department of Mysteries had been too badly damaged. He himself was an Unspeakable, and he was terrified that his research, and that of his colleagues, might have fallen into Dark hands in the siege. Just then, another loud clang brought the young wizard out of his reverie as the lift doors opened. The long, black-tiled hallway leading into the bowels of the Department appeared undamaged apart from a few extinguished torches on the walls, and Quentin experienced a few blissful seconds of relief. However, his celebration was short-lived. As they entered the Hall of Doors, he could see large, fiery red X shapes adorning several doors, and one that was even hanging off its hinges. In the Death Chamber, they found the translucent black veil fluttering undamaged in a nonexistent breeze, but the rest of the room was a shambles. Bits of rubble from the battle littered the ground, and at the foot of the veil's dais was a huddle of unconscious Death Eaters, bound together with a silvery enchanted rope. Several of the Aurors broke off from the group to deal with the scoundrels.

While the Aurors took care of the Death Eaters, Fairwether followed Kingsley and the small group of Unspeakables back into the Hall of Doors. From there, they chose another of the X marked doors, which Fairwether knew instinctively was the entrance to the Time Room. Fairwether's father had been a renowned wizarding clockmaker, and had passed along his fascination with clocks and time to his son. Quentin couldn't imagine working anywhere else besides the Time Room, and he felt his blood begin to boil as he laid eyes on the ravaged space behind the door. Many of his coworkers' desks had been overturned, and clocks they'd worked for hours on now lay smashed and broken on the stone floor. Quentin's favorite grandfather clock had a gouge down its wooden front from a spell gone wrong. The bell jar with the bird in it was still intact, thank goodness, but lying nearby it was a grotesque creature. A thick, beefy Death Eater, the man would have been formidable indeed had it not been for his head, small, round and pink, an infant's delicate features on the small face. _He must have fallen into the bell jar_, thought Quentin with horror as he looked at the large knot on the baby's head. It was out cold. The other Time Wards would be fascinated, especially River and Knockwood, who'd created the bell jar experiment together. Fairwether, however, was mostly just repulsed. He preferred the beauty and sureness of clocks to the actual effects of time's cruelty. Just then, he was brought out of his momentary reverie by the sound of one of the others, shouting.

"Look at the Turners! They're ruined!" A tall, thin Unspeakable with a snub nose and a pompous demeanor was pointing at the glass-fronted cabinet as he called to them. Fairwether vaguely knew the man from one of the other Rooms of Mystery. He followed the man's gaze to the far corner of the room, where they kept the Ministry's stock of Time-Turners in a wooden cabinet with a glass sliding door. To his horror, he saw the cabinet begin to fall, the glass cracking into hundreds of pieces and the wood splintering as it hit the floor. Just when he was about to panic, the cabinet sprang back up to the wall again, fully formed. Before he had time to register his own confusion, the cabinet was broken again. It must have been the Time-Turners. That was the only explanation. "The cabinet must have been broken in the fight, but the Time-Turners kept on working," he said in amazement to the room at large. Kingsley nodded. "Very good. You work down here, boy?" Fairwether nodded. "Know where the notes are on Turners, how to create them?" The young man gulped before replying. "Yes sir, in the office there." He pointed at a small door in the wall next to the damaged grandfather clock. As Quentin's gaze fell to the door, he spotted something glittering on the doorknob. It was a long gold chain, and at the end of it was a small hourglass, encircled by two rings of gold, which were engraved with the symbols he knew all too well. "Look! Another Time-Turner! It survived the crash and flew out of the cabinet!" he said in amazement. Kingsley swiftly grabbed the golden chain from the door handle and handed it to Fairwether.

"Get those papers and meet me in the Hall of Doors," ordered Shacklebolt, and Fairwether rushed to comply. "Tonight was a very close call. We must prevent the other side from getting the secrets of the Ministry. Who knows what havoc they might wreak with the power of time-travel! I am doubling, nay, tripling security for the Department of Mysteries, but we need to hide that Time-Turner information in a safe place, where no Death Eater will ever find it." Fairwether, returning with the notes and following Shacklebolt out into the Hall of Doors, nodded nervously. "Yes, sir, but where is safe enough? Where can we possibly hide this secret, when even the Department of Mysteries is not secure enough to hold it?" Kingsley turned to face the young man, and said gravely the words that Quentin Fairwether had most been dreading. "You know where we must go." The young Unspeakable went quite pale as the Auror handed him the golden box that now held the only Time-Turner left in the world. "You will say nothing of what you are about to see, not to anyone. I trust you can handle that, Unspeakable Fairwether?" Kingsley Shacklebolt said seriously. And with one final, nervous nod from Quentin, Kingsley grabbed the other man's shoulder firmly, and they turned on their heels and vanished with a "Pop!"

Now that the Ministry wizards were gone from the Time Room, an eerie stillness fell over the battle-torn chamber. The only noises were those of the cabinet still breaking, repairing itself, and breaking again- and the barely audible sound of footsteps creeping across the debris-strewn floor.


	2. Chapter 1: In Which Evie is Nervous

**A/N: hi! I'm back! I hope you like Chapter One. Thank you so much to everyone who reads/reviews/favorites/story alerts my stories. :)**

**Chapter One: Catching the Train**

**21 years later**

"Evie! Seb! Get a move on, or we'll be late!" Mrs. Luna Lovegood-Longbottom called up the stairs to her children. It was a deceptively sunny and yet cold morning, the first of September, and it was far earlier than Luna had ever known her children to rise. But rise they must, and immediately, or they would miss the train. Mrs. Longbottom's voice carried up the stairwell, but that didn't make eleven year old Evangeline Longbottom any more eager to get up. Still, she could hear her mum climbing the stairs, and she knew she'd be in trouble if she wasn't out of bed when Luna got to her room. Sighing, Evie rolled out of bed and slipped into her favorite, worn pair of Muggle jeans, and a soft old sweater- blue, her favorite color. She ran a comb quickly through her long blond hair and clipped her silver charm bracelet onto her right wrist.

The bracelet had been a gift from Grandmother Augusta before she'd died of dragon pox when Evie was just six years old, and it was Evangeline's most treasured possession. She had several small charms already- a tiny silver quill writing on a silver parchment, an owl spreading its wings in flight, a ruby-red cubic zirconium shaped like a heart, and a tiny pair of silver-and-pink ballet slippers. She'd gotten the heart and owl charms from her Gran along with the bracelet itself, and her mum had given her the quill and parchment when her first piece had been published in the Quibbler for Kids magazine last year. The ballet slippers she'd gotten from her dad on her eighth birthday, the day after her first ballet recital.

Evangeline had always loved to dance. Music made her want to tap her feet, and ever since she was small, whenever the radio was turned on, she would twirl about on tiptoe like a real ballerina. When Evie was seven and a half years old, Neville had arranged for his daughter to take lessons at Madame Deveraux's Academy of Ballet. From her first lesson, Evie was in love. When she danced, it felt as though she was flying, and at eleven, she was already the most accomplished dancer at her small ballet school.

Now, all that would change, she thought sadly as she fastened the clasp of the bracelet round her wrist. She was going away to school, and her parents had asked her to withdraw from classes at Madame's. Evie knew that Hogwarts' recently implemented fine arts program was the best her world had to offer. She knew that she was a special girl, and she needed to learn how to control her gift. But still, Evangeline would miss Madame and the other dancers more than she cared to admit. Unfortunately, she had no choice in the matter. For you see, Evie Longbottom was extraordinary, not just in dancing, but in her very essence. Evie Longbottom was a witch.

Evie's parents had explained everything to her and her brother, Sebastian, as soon as they were old enough to understand that they were different. Other children couldn't make their sibling's juice spill onto their white blazer when they were angry, or be whisked to safety by an invisible pair of hands when they were in danger. Other mommies and daddies didn't have dishes that washed themselves or brooms that could fly as well as sweep their floors. Evie and Seb's family stemmed from a long line of witches and wizards, all powerful and talented in their own right. But the Longbottom children couldn't tell just anyone who they really were. The children at their school couldn't do magic like they could, and indeed they didn't know it even really existed. If Evie or her brother told anyone about the Wizarding world that wasn't magical, they would be breaking a very important law. Evie knew from a young age that she would be in very serious trouble if she told nonmagical, or Muggle, people about her secret. There were only a few people she could talk to about magic. These included Grandpapa Lovegood, the Weasleys, and the Potters.

The Weasleys and the Potters were old school friends of her parents, and as they were still quite close, Evie and Sebastian often had to tag along on outings with the other families and spend time with their children. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were very nice to Evie and Seb, and always had extra sweets for them. They had three children: James, who was a year older than the Longbottom kids and very mischievous; Albus, who was quiet, green eyed and black haired, and the same age as Evie and Seb; and little Lily, two years younger than Evie, Seb and Al, and always full of energy, her personality as bright as her shoulder length red hair. Evie liked them well enough. They were always playing about with their cousins, the Weasleys.

Rose Weasley was Al's age, very smart and always reading some book or other; her younger brother, Hugo, was Lily's age, and liked to play with his toy dragons and action figures of famous witches and wizards, including one of his own father! Mr. Weasley had passed his red hair down to both of his children, and he was always smiling and loved to laugh. His wife was more serious, and sometimes strict with the children. She was nice most of the time, though, and Evie always marveled at the thickness of Mrs. Weasley's long brown hair. Evie had gone through a phase at one point wherein she wanted to become a hairdresser, and Mrs. Weasley had let her braid her long hair one night when she was babysitting for them.

Still, Evie didn't know the Potter and Weasley kids very well at all. They only saw each other every couple of months; Evie was much closer with her friends at her Muggle primary school. But she did enjoy those visits to the Potter House in Godric's Hollow, and she usually looked forward to having wizarding children to talk to about her magical exploits. Today, however, she was not looking forward to seeing the Potter and Weasley kids at all, because they were meeting not at the Godric's Hollow house, but at King's Cross Station. Today was the day they'd make their first journey to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Evangeline Longbottom was positively _dreading_ the entire experience.

Evie had never gone to a sleepaway camp, or spent the night at a friend's house. She had never gone on a vacation all by herself, or indeed been away from her family for more than a day at a time. Every time she thought of leaving her mum, she wanted to cry. Evie loved her mother very much, and even though they could owl back and forth, and use Floo powder as well, she knew their relationship would never be the same at school. Her dad would be closer, as he was the school's Herbology professor, but this offered little comfort to his increasingly nervous daughter. Evie's father's job was another worry of hers, because all the students would know he was her dad from the moment she was called for Sorting. Would they make snap judgments about her because of who her dad was? What if they didn't want to be her friend because they thought she'd tattle to her dad about every little thing they did? Evie loved Dad, but he could be silly sometimes. What if he embarrassed her? She decided not to think about that for now.

Evie walked slowly down the white carpeted stairs and along the hallway to the kitchen, where the tile floor was cold against her sock feet. The rest of the kitchen was warm and bright, as Luna had woken up early to make her twins breakfast on their last day home. Evie sat at the table as her mum set a plate of eggs and toast in front of her. She nibbled a bit off the piece of toast, but put it down almost immediately. She was much too nervous to eat anything this morning.

Not so her brother, who came shuffling into the kitchen a few moments later, his brown hair messy and his shirt untucked. Sebastian sat down across from his sister and immediately began to shovel his breakfast into his mouth. Evie wrinkled her nose. Sometimes boys were really gross, especially her brother. Seb was clever and brave, and he'd always been an athlete. He couldn't wait to go to Hogwarts, so he could try out for Quidditch, his favorite sport. Seb didn't appear to be worried about fitting in, or making friends, like Evangeline was. In fact, he didn't seem to care about much of anything except his breakfast at the moment. Evie wished she could be as calm about the whole Hogwarts thing as her brother was.

Luna then sat down too, and began going over the day's plan with her children in between bites of food. "We'll take the Floo Network after we've finished packing, and then we'll meet up with the Potters at King's Cross. The Weasleys will be along later. We can chat for a bit before it's time for you to board the train, and then you'll be off to Hogwarts! Aren't you excited, dears? Evie? Is that a Wrackspurt fluttering around and distracting you? I could've sworn I put out the magical pest repellent just yesterday…" She trailed off, and Evie, who had indeed been staring off into space, came back down to earth.

"Yes, Mum, I'm sure it'll be great. And no, I don't think I have a Wrackspurt," Evie added as her mother reached over and began swatting at the air around Evie's head, trying to beat off the unseen Wrackspurt. "I'm just… never mind. Let's just go." Seb, having finished eating by now, chimed in, "Yes! I can't wait! I hope I'm in Gryffindor like Dad! Flying lessons are going to be so awesome!" He jumped up and ran off to his room to get his things.

Evie grudgingly rose to do the same, but her mother grabbed her hand. "Darling, I know you're feeling nervous about going to a new school, but you'll love Hogwarts, I promise. You're going to do us proud, young lady. I just know it." And she leaned over and planted a kiss right on the tip of Evie's nose, like she used to do when Evie was small. Evie giggled and held out her arms for a hug. "Thanks Mum. I'll try my best."

An hour later, Evie, Seb and their mother walked into King's Cross Station, which was bustling with people of all sorts, going to many different places. Evie liked watching them and trying to guess where they were going and why. It was a game she played with Seb sometimes, people watching and making up crazy stories for each person. The man with the bandaged hand had run afoul of a Venomous Tentacula plant, and his wife's hair had been tangled up like that by an evil enchanted hairbrush. That harried-looking businessman was late for work because a mischievous Niffler had made off with his expensive gold watch. And the redheaded family with the fluffy ginger kitten and the luggage marked with the Hogwarts crest…

"Oh, kids, look! We've found the Weasleys! Hermione, Ron, how are you?" Luna said excitedly. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley said hello and the grown-ups began chatting as Evie and Seb eyed the other boy and girl. Rose Weasley smiled, braces glinting on her teeth and reddish-brown hair frizzing up in the humidity, and started in on Evie immediately about how _excited_ she was, how _wonderful_ school would be, how they had _so_ much to _learn_… Evie wished she'd shut up, she was nervous enough as it was without Rose going on about the spells she'd learned already.

A few minutes later the parents finally broke up their conversation. "What are you kids standing here for?" asked Ron Weasley, laughing. "Time to go to Hogwarts! Go on," and he took Rosie's hand and ran with her, straight into the solid brick barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. Evie covered her eyes with her fingers, anticipating a crash even though she knew full well how the magical barrier worked. Hermione and Hugo went through next, and then Seb charged at the barrier, without the slightest of nerves. When it was just Evie and Luna left in the station, she steeled herself, grabbing onto her mother's soft hand for support. There was nothing else for it. Evie squeezed her eyes closed, steered her luggage cart to face the barrier, and began to run.

Of course, there was no impact on reaching the barrier, but Evie's heart pounded just a bit faster all the same as she ran. Opening her eyes, she saw a huge scarlet steam engine peeking out from the clouds of white smoke that blanketed the new platform. She had made it onto Platform 9 and Three-Quarters. Her mum joined her as she began to wade through the smoke, looking for her brother and the Weasleys. A familiar voice wafted towards them on the steamy air. "I _won't_! I _won't_ be in Slytherin!" Evie smiled. Oh, Albus. Sure enough, the smoke cleared and the Potter family stood in front of them.

Harry was trying to mediate the latest argument between his boys. It sounded to Evie as though James had been scaring Albus with stories of Slytherin House, which had been known to harbor some of Hogwarts' more unpleasant students. The poor boy looked about as nervous as Evangeline felt. Jokester James was still laughing as he waltzed off to find his friends. James, a second-year, was kind of a cross between his parents, with his mum's red hair and brown eyes, and his dad's poor eyesight. He was always pushing his glasses up on his nose. Albus looked like his dad: small and skinny with untidy jet black hair and bright green eyes. The last Potter kid, Lily, was Hugo's age, too young for Hogwarts but allowed onto the platform to see her brothers off. Wide-eyed, the little girl stared around at the train and its many passengers, wishing she was old enough to join them yet too shy to let go of her mother's hand. She resembled Ginny Potter a great deal, what with her bright red hair and chocolate eyes.

Albus and his parents were discussing how often they would write to each other this year when the Lovegood-Longbottoms approached them. "Hello, Harry, Ginny," said Mrs. Longbottom dreamily. "Can you believe how big the kids have all gotten? It's as though a Wrackspurt's fogged up the last few years so we didn't notice until now!" The Potters smiled fondly at their children and agreed. "How have you been, Evangeline? Excited to go to Hogwarts?" asked Mr. Potter kindly. Evie flushed and nodded, not wanting to admit how she really felt. The minute she'd seen the scarlet train, a knot of anxiety had formed in her stomach.

Albus was peering into the hazy air, wondering out loud, "Where are they?" Mrs. Potter said, "I think that's them, Al." She was proven right as they walked right down to the end of the train and met the group of five people: Rose, Hugo, Ron, Hermione, and Sebastian. Albus, clearly relieved for some company his own age that wasn't his brother, grinned and went over to Rose and Seb. Evie followed him. The adults bantered about driver's licenses and Confudus Charms. Mr. Weasley made a joke about disinheriting any Weasley who wasn't in Gryffindor, and Rose and Albus blanched. Hermione scolded him, and he reassured the kids that he was joking. The still-nervous kids stood waiting for something else interesting to happen.

"So that's little Scorpius," said Ron Weasley loudly, his eyes on a small, blond boy standing a ways down the platform, next to a pale man with thinning hair and a pretty brunette witch, who Evie assumed must be the boy's parents. The man saw them looking and offered a curt nod. Harry Potter inclined his head in return, and the other looked away again. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie," Mr. Weasley told his daughter. "Ron, for heaven's sake," said Hermione, "Don't turn them against each other before they've even started school!" Luna nodded. "You should never judge a dragon by his scales, dears." Evie eyed the blond boy curiously. He looked normal to her, maybe a bit anxious but not threatening in any way. His father didn't look very nice, but that was no reason to hate the son. She resolved to be kind to him if she saw him at school. It looked to her as though this Scorpius could do with a friend.

At this point, James returned, shouting with glee about having discovered the Potters' godson Teddy snogging his girlfriend, a Weasley cousin called Victoire. Once he'd reported this, teased Al some more and allowed his parents to hug him, James climbed onto the train. Evie saw him mouth "Slytherin" at Albus as he climbed onboard. Albus pretended to ignore him, but he still looked scared. Luna was hugging Sebastian, the Weasleys were saying goodbye to Rose, and Albus was talking quietly with his dad, something Mr. Potter said making his green eyes go wide. Looking relieved, he hopped onboard the train with Rose.

Evie turned to Luna. In all the excitement, she'd almost forgotten that she would have to leave her mother. A tear rolled down her cheek as Mum pulled her close, holding her like she didn't want to let go any more than Evie did. "My darling", Luna murmured. "My sweet, special Evangeline. You are going to be a great witch. I don't care where you get Sorted, I hope you know that. I'm so proud of you, no matter what. I'll see you at Christmas, love. Watch out for Nargles." She pulled away, and kissed Evie's nose again. "Go on. Make some friends. And don't forget to write. Have a good first term." Evie swallowed her tears. "I love you, Mummy." "I know, dear. I love you too."

And with that, Evie climbed up the steps and onto the train. She waved at her mum, then turned and began to look for a compartment. What if nobody liked her? What if no one wanted her in their compartment? Just as the fear and self-doubt began to crash over her, a friendly voice called out to her. "Hey, Evie! Over here!" It was Rose, smiling at her from the doorway of a compartment. "Have a seat. Everywhere else is full, so we're all sitting together!" Evie stepped into the little room. Sitting there were Albus, Sebastian, the boy called Scorpius, and a girl with light brown hair and horn-rimmed glasses. Evie sank gratefully into the window seat beside the girl, who introduced herself as Jessica Finnegan.

Maybe school wouldn't be so bad, she thought to herself, gazing out the window at the parents waving from the platform. She already had a compartment full of friends, after all. And she was going to learn all kinds of new things, like spells and potions and how to fly a broom. For the first time since she'd gotten the letter, Evie felt excited. All of a sudden, she couldn't wait to get to school. She still felt a twinge of sadness as she looked at her mum, waving at her, smiling and crying at the same time. She saw the Weasleys and Mr. and Mrs. Potter waving too. As the train roared to life and pulled out of the station, she thought she saw Mr. Potter's hand slip down to trace the thin lightning scar on his forehead. And then they were picking up speed, and Lily and Hugo tried to run after them but fell behind, and the countryside blurred past the window as Evangeline Longbottom and her newfound friends hurtled along, towards the biggest adventure of their lives.


End file.
